


All Good Things

by CaptainErica



Series: Contractually Obligated [1]
Category: Big Bang (Band)
Genre: Gen, businessman!seungri, contracts with mortals, demon or angel? you decide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-03
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-10-21 21:29:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17650205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainErica/pseuds/CaptainErica
Summary: Seunghyun makes a deal with Seungri, who signs a contract that maybe he shouldn't have...





	All Good Things

It was March when it started.

Seungri had been visited by a potential investor at his office in the middle of that month, he remembered it well. He hadn’t had an appointment, Seungri recalls as he stares up at the ceiling, he’d just come into the building and Seungri’s secretary had let him into his office. She had whispered something about the man being from a big firm, ready to invest in Seungri’s many and varied plans and ideas that had yet to be green-lit due to budget constraints and a need for new people.

It had seemed like a perfect match.

Seungri groans, rolling over in his bed and pressing his face into the pillows. It had _seemed_ perfect, the guy even had the same first name as him: _Seunghyun._ But it wasn’t perfect, was it? There was some weird price to be paid.

The meeting had gone very well, and Seunghyun and he had set up a meeting the next day in a more _comfortable_ setting; a coffee shop somewhere closer to the firm Seunghyun worked for. It was the perfect place to strike a deal, Seunghyun had said, and Seungri wishes he had paid attention to the actual _words_ being said to him instead of the meaning of them but… well that was the point, wasn’t it? That was what Seunghyun was good at, wasn’t it?

Seungri presses his face into the pillows a little harder for a moment, then pulls back with a sigh and turns to sit up, frowning at himself.

His company was doing better than ever before. The meeting that day with Seunghyun had somehow kick-started everyone’s imagination, their productivity… And then the follow-up meeting in the café, and Seungri had been strongly pushing their success; always important with a big investor, you have to talk up the successes, explain failures in ways that make them seem learnable or expected and necessary for company growth.

Seungri is good at all of that, was good that day too. He scowls a little more deeply to himself, grumpy and annoyed and frustrated with himself this mid-August morning in bed. He hadn’t _needed_ anything from Seunghyun except money; investors made it possible for him to dream big and pay his employees who could then _also_ dream big, do big…

He had been an idiot. Still _was_ an idiot.

The contract that Seunghyun had pulled out had been short, easy for Seungri to spend a few minutes looking over as Seunghyun sipped on a latte and pointed out different sections of it. The fine print, Seungri’s favorite part to read normally as it gave him a better idea of who he was working with, was difficult to understand, more so than he had come across in the past. He had, of course, asked about it.

Seungri remembers this part of the conversation rather distinctly, mostly because he has played it over in his head rather often since. Seunghyun had looked up at him from where he’d been staring at his nails, and a smile had spread across his face that still gave Seungri goosebumps before he had said:

“It’s standard, in these types of deals, to make sure that all eventualities and situations are covered.” Seunghyun had said, as if Seungri hadn’t ever read a contract before, hadn’t ever written one. “Of course in this case, there are some extra things I had to cover, based on a couple of prior engagements, you will understand, of course.” He added, which had made Seungri frown softly as he thought it over.

“I’m afraid I don’t.” Seungri had said, which was the right thing to say, he thinks to himself, pushing a hand through his messy hair and scowling at the sheets.

Seunghyun, however, had other ideas, but Seungri had been persistent because the language was old fashioned, out-moded, and it included reference to what sounded like hell-fire and that couldn’t be right.

“Listen, one of our other clients had… well, it’s embarrassing to say.” Seunghyun had said eventually, suave still and Seungri hadn’t believed then that he was embarrassed and he definitely doesn’t now. “Needless to say, we had to add these rather archaic sounding terms to our contracts in order to kind of… pre-empt that kind of situation again.” Seunghyun had heaved out a sigh, recrossed his legs, and then leant forward, “Basically it’s saying that no matter the outcome, be it ‘fire and brimstone’ or ‘eternal damnation’ or a life without love, you still are bound by the terms of the agreement.”

The way he had said it, Seungri reasons with himself now to make up for how much of an idiot he feels like he is, had made him feel like he understood. He had nodded along, thoughtful, frown lifting, and then had agreed that whoever the person to have burned them was, was really something, and then he had happily signed it; happily signed away.

He hadn’t fully understood that, then, though. No, no Seungri had read the whole contract, and he _did_ receive funding from Seunghyun, and he _did_ get those side-ventures approved, and they _were_ booming and doing well.

The contract had been fairly plain, and maybe Seunghyun’s explanation of the fine print was accurate but Seungri had failed to understand what he was actually signing a contract for; because it wasn’t for the money, no matter that he got it.

No, Seungri thinks as he stares down at his sheets, no he had instead been signing a contract for a very different situation than the one they had been talking about, than the money, than anything Seungri was actively considering. It was a contract to do business with, and for, Seunghyun. And Seungri hadn’t even _noticed._

Why would he have? There was no reason for him to have thought that it was anything else, he reasons with himself. He wasn’t psychic, wasn’t precognitive, couldn’t read minds or anything so it’s stupid to be beating himself up over it now.

Now, the morning after the phone call where Seunghyun had told him the time had come for him to fulfill his end of the contract.

But Seungri has no idea what they had agreed upon.

He had pulled the document out after the phone call, feeling shaken and confused and definitely lost. There was something about Seunghyun, something about how he had sounded that made him uncomfortable and uncertain, something that made him worry… But there was nothing in the contract that said anything about something that he owed outside of money, which they had already paid.

He gets out of bed and goes to the bathroom, leaning on the sink and staring at himself in the mirror. “You’re being insane.” He says, “paranoid, you’ve just forgotten something, that’s all.” He says, nodding to his reflection and pulling away.

Except Seungri forgot nothing and knew that there was nothing specific that he had forgotten from the meetings with Seunghyun. There was the odd word here and there, the odd hint in their further meetings as the months had worn on and business had excelled.

Maybe… Seunghyun had asked him about staffing changes and additions, had asked him if he had hired someone to be in charge of the bigger projects yet, kept hinting at it. But Seungri hadn’t hired anyone to do those things because they were still small enough projects, still his own babies, so he could deal with it.

That must be what he was referring to. Maybe they had made some type of deal in terms of staffing and Seungri was seeming to be inconsiderately attached and so wasn’t… maybe, Seungri thinks, Seunghyun thinks he’s mismanaging and not giving the ventures the right chances by not delegating to someone the day to day responsibilities.

That was fair, a fair assessment, and Seunghyun being the largest stakeholder would of course be worried so it made sense. Seungri nods to himself, has rationalized it all, has decided this is correct and can now banish his other thoughts (can’t).

He has a meeting with Seunghyun later in the day, in an airy office that feels wrong in a way that Seungri can’t quite figure out exactly. There, Seunghyun details the 5 people who will be receiving a job from his company at large in the next month, and Seungri sits there and tries to rationalize _this_ part as well (you were right, at least).

~

The first to come in is a former model/actor. He’s not quite as tall as Seungri had imagined models were supposed to be, but he had that look about him like it really didn’t matter. He’d been quite popular, Seungri remembers seeing him in ads all over the place. He doesn’t expect him to be here for a job, especially since he’s certain he owns some high-end label, but Seungri is wrong.

Jiyong Kwon is looking for a business partner, and he fits rather neatly into the Presidential hole yawning ever wider over the newest piece of Seungri’s vast and sprawling company. NHR needed a President, someone who could focus on it entirely and expand it as it needed expanding and Jiyong was the exact right person for the position.

He hired him that day, and the next Jiyong was announced as the new President and was sitting in the office at the NHR building, already making plans with the other employees to expand and work hard and change and grow.

There was a box from Peaceminusone on Seungri’s desk that afternoon after lunch, and Seungri had smiled to himself, thinking it was a thank you from Jiyong. It wasn’t, though, it was a gift from Seunghyun, and inside the box, along with the clothes and the fancy jewelry, there was a black card with metallic words: _and, next_

It made no sense. He couldn’t decide if Seunghyun was trying to buy him or not. He couldn’t decide what the end game was, what the start game, the middle game _nothing._ But Jiyong had been a good call, and the right call, and Seungri wasn’t going to push it.

~

The second to come, about a week and a half later, couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.

Her name is Sandara and she has the look of someone who should be in movies or tv, and who might have been at some point but Seungri doesn’t watch a lot of either. She was bubbly and vivacious and much older than him though she didn’t look it. She respected what he had built, but…

“Well, I believe you could do more, you know?” She had said, sitting across from him, her CV sitting before him on his desk. “The whole VR thing is really taking off, and you’ve got an entire music label, I think you could make something even better.”

His VR foray had been a lucky break that had only occurred because of the timely intervention of Seunghyun and his money, and today had been the launching of their full campaign. They needed someone who could really lead it, and really work on it, and really build it into its own freestanding company like NHR was, like _this_ company was.

She was hired the next day, after deliberation about what they could do and how they could make it work. “If you need help expanding, you can reach out to NHR. The companies here are distinct, but related.” He had said over the phone, and she had agreed, happily spending a half hour telling him about her plans.

Dara moved into the offices two floors below Seungri’s that were designated for the VR work, and quite quickly delved into her work.

There was a vase of flowers waiting on Seungri’s desk when he came in that morning, another black card settled snugly in the bouquet: _smart_

Seungri thinks he hates Seunghyun.

~

Seungri isn’t sure how he knows the right people, that they’re Seunghyun’s people. He wonders if _they_ know that they’re Seunghyun’s people. He wonders what this is all about, what Seunghyun has on them, or needs from them all or why this is important.

The 3rd and 4th were hired on the spot, same day. They were solid management types, had worked together before and were perfect for the restaurant business; making sure everything was running smoothly and that all of the chains were operating to standard.

The gift this time was at his apartment, settled neatly on his dining room table, taking up too much room. Seungri walks over to it with trepidation, eyes scanning because he can’t see anyone in the vicinity, no one had come in, his alarms hadn’t been tripped…

The card is black with metallic writing, and all it says is: _for you_

It’s ominous, or vague, and Seungri is just not in the mood, really. He opens the box slowly and it’s dinner, a dinner, perfectly cooked, warm, smells great, but…

He gets a phone call, then, and he answers without looking at who it is. “Seungri?” He answers.

“Did you get my gift?” Seunghyun asks, voice silky and smooth. “Eat it while it’s hot, it will be the best meal you’ve ever had, I can promise.” He says, and Seungri considers not eating it, stomach dropping, but…

“How did you get it in here?” He asks instead of anything else, and Seunghyun laughs.

“It doesn’t matter.” Seunghyun says, and Seungri moves to get utensils as if that was a good enough answer. “What matters is that you’re almost there, and your final reward will be the best of all.”

This sends soft chills down Seungri’s spine. “I’m not-“ But Seunghyun cuts him off with a tsking sound.

“Seungri, come now.” Seunghyun says, “It’s simple, you help a few of my loyal customers, some people I owe… and then you get a reward! Very simple, you’re even getting great employees out of the deal, and all I’m doing is completing my contracts with them. You’re really getting more than they are, if I’m being honest, it’s a steal.” He says, in that voice that’s so persuasive that Seungri just finds himself nodding.

“They’ve been great employees so far.” He says, would have been grudgingly except that he means it too much to feel that way. He stares down at the dinner, already back at the table, and then sits.

Seunghyun hums, pleased with himself and Seungri can almost feel the smugness. “And they will continue to be, they’re high-quality, I wouldn’t have done this if they weren’t.” He says, as if Seungri couldn’t have other options if he had looked. “Quality is what I pride myself on, Seungri.” He says, emphasizing Seungri’s name like it’s a connection between the two of them.

When they get off the phone Seungri starts to eat (it really is the best food he’s ever eaten), and after a short moment he starts to replay the conversation. He has no idea what he’s gotten himself into, he thinks, but whatever it is, it means that the 4 people he’s just hired all have some connection to Seunghyun, and potentially all know that _he_ has a connection to him.

It’s uncomfortable to consider.

~

It takes longer for the 5th candidate to make themselves known, all the way into November by the time this one shows up.

Youngbae Dong is a dancer, you can tell by looking at him, but he’s been working in charity the majority of his life. Applying, Youngbae says during the interview “was a test for myself, for my abilities, and also to prove that I’m capable of taking on the challenges.”

Seungri liked him instantly. He was that type of person that you just couldn’t _not._ Seungri is surprised that he has anything to do with Seunghyun, but then wonders at all of them. “It’s a dance academy, day to day business needs to be taken care of, bookings, applications, choreography… everything.” Seungri says, and Youngbae hums, nodding along.

“I look forward to it.” Youngbae says, and Seungri holds out for a day before hiring him only because hiring him on the spot almost seemed like it would be far too needy.

Youngbae’s office is in the same building as NHR, because that’s where X Academy is housed as well. Seungri hopes that he and Jiyong get along, but then doesn’t really think much past that.

He doesn’t come into the office to anything from Seunghyun today; but there is a basket of homemade jam and tea on his desk from Youngbae. It’s a sweet gesture, but Seungri starts to worry when that night there’s nothing in his apartment, and the next day still nothing; had he hired the wrong person? Youngbae was perfect for the job, despite his inexperience.

Seungri spends that day sitting at his desk, waiting for something to happen, the penny to drop. It doesn’t, though.

That night, Seunghyun is waiting at his door, dressed rather impeccably. “You’re dressed well enough for dinner, come on.” He says, pushing away from his lean and walking past him. Seungri blinks, shakes his head.

“I’m sorry, what?” He asks, and Seunghyun pauses, doesn’t look back though.

“We’re going to dinner, come along.” Seunghyun says, voice smooth still, though maybe it’s slightly agitated.

Seungri frowns, displeased with being ordered about like this, but also kind of powerless to disobey. He turns and follows after Seunghyun, and when they turn a corner they’re suddenly before a restaurant that Seungri is positive is not around the corner from his building. The door is opened for them, and Seunghyun walks in first, Seungri trailing behind, taking it all in.

They’re sat at a table in the mostly empty restaurant, food brought out immediately, and everything seems incorrect somehow, just wrong. How did they know what they would eat? How did it come out so fast? What….?

“You’ve hired them all, and I do appreciate it.” Seunghyun says, and something is wrong with his eyes, or maybe it was the candlelight.

Seungri nods, “Yes, well, they were all the right fits for the positions.” He says, feels slow and like he’s missing something. He knows he is missing something.

Seunghyun watches him, holding a glass of wine, sipping from it. “I never break a promise.” He says, though Seungri would like to note that there hadn’t really been a promise made until afterward. “And now your reward, Seungri, for helping me fulfill my contracts.”

He waves his hand, indicating that Seungri should eat, so he begins. He’s waiting, though, wonders what this reward will be.

“I’m afraid it will take some time to get it to work out, but it’s a guarantee, and it’s good for both of you.”

Seungri pauses mid-bite, watching him, waiting for more information, but Seunghyun doesn’t offer any. He changes the topic, actually, moves it along, and Seungri enjoys his time but he thinks he’s being tricked into enjoying it.

When he gets home, Seunghyun mentions something about it starting in a few weeks, and ”don’t worry, Seungri, I can promise that this reward is no strings attached, it’s completely mundane, and I am only making sure it happens.”

It’s an odd thing to say, but Seungri nods, brows furrowed, and when he turns back to close the door he finds that Seunghyun has already gone; left him with too many questions, and very few answers.


End file.
